Footwear

ABSTRACT

Footwear such as shoes, boots, etc. having a welt at its lower margin to which a prepared sole, usually of sheet stock, is fastened having a ribbon of elastomeric material molded and cured in situ along the inner perimeter of the welt so as to provide a stepless transition inside of the shoe from the upper to the sole. Such shoes having soles of soft material, such as microcellular elastomer, and also a stabilizing insert and the ribbon of elastomer is molded to secure the insert in its desired location to provide the stepless transition from the inside of the upper to the sole. The method of manufacture of such footwear by holding the pre-welted upper under tension on the last of a sole laying device until after closing of the side frame of said device so that by releasing said tension, the welt is forced into sealing engagement with the side wall of said side frame.

United States Patent Kaufman June 20, 1972 FOOTWEAR Curt E. Kaufman,Waynesville, NC.

Ro-Search, NC.

[22] Filed: April 22, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 38,634

Related US. Application Data [60] Division of Ser. No. 846,019, July 30,1969, Pat. No. 3,577,858, and a continuation-in-part of Ser. No.794,333, Jan. 27, 1969, Pat. No. 3,562,930, which is a division of Ser.No. 521,247, Jan. 14, 1966, Pat. No. 3,473,178.

[72] inventor:

[73] Assignee: Incorporated, Waynesville,

[52] U.S. Cl. [51] Int. Cl. [58] Field of Search ....12/142RS ..A43d9/00 12/142 R, 142 RS; 36/14 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,651,118 Root ..12/142 RS Rollman et a1 ..12/142 RS Bingham ..12/142 RSPrimary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Att0rney--Dos T. Hatfield s7 ABSTRACTFootwear such as shoes, boots, etc. having a welt at its lower margin towhich a prepared sole, usually of sheet stock, is fastened having aribbon of elastomeric material molded and cured in situ along the innerperimeter of the welt so as to provide a stepless transition inside ofthe shoe from the upper to the sole. Such shoes having soles of sofimaterial, such as micro-cellular elastomer, and also a stabilizinginsert and the ribbon of elastomer is molded to secure the insert in itsdesired location to provide the stepless transition from the inside ofthe upper to the sole. The method of manufacture of such footwear byholding the pre-welted upper under tension on the last of a sole layingdevice until after closing of the side frame of said device so that byreleasing said tension, the welt is forced into sealing engagement withthe side wall of said side frame.

v 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures FOOTWEAR This application is a division ofapplication Ser. "No.. 846,0l9, filed July 30, 1969, now U.S. Pat. No.3,577,858, and a continuation-in-part of my pending application," Ser.No. 794,333 filed Jan. 27, 1069, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,930, as adivisional application of Ser. No. 521,247 filed Jan. 14, I966, now U.S.Pat. No. 3,473,178.

The invention refers to footwear such as shoes with an upper of leatheror similar material and a prepared sole, usually of sheet stock, securedthereto. 7

According to the invention, such shoes are improved by providing astepless transition between the inside of the upper and the sole bymeans of a ribbon of elastomeric material molded and cured in situ,providing thereby at the same time, additional fastening of the upper tothe sole.

Other features of the invention are clarified hereafter in connectionwith the drawing, which shows in FIG. 1 a cross section of a shoeaccording to one execution of the invention, still in a sole-layingdevice after completion of the sole-laying and before removal of thefinished shoe from said device.

FIG. 2 shows in a larger scale a cross section through the toe and FIG.3 a cross section through the heel of such shoe.

FIG. 4 shows a view partially in section of still another execution ofthe invention.

In the manufacture of a shoe according to the example shown in FIG. 1,the upper 1 is prepared by stitching together pieces of leather and atthe bottom margin 2 of the upper a welt 3 is fastened by a stitching 4.The welt in this example consists of micro-porous rubber with small,closed cells. The so prepared upper is placed on the last 21 of asole-laying device and tightened thereon by means of threads or clamps.Thereafter the side frame 5 is placed surrounding the welt 3 and closed.Then the clamps are removed or the threads cut to release the tension ofthe upper 1 at least partially to move the welt outwardly into tightengagement with the side walls of the frame 5. A previously preparedsole 11 is placed into the cavity of the bottom plate 12 afterheat-setting cement is applied to the bottom surface of the welt 9 andthe corresponding surface of the sole, and a ribbon 19 of moldableelastomer such as uncured rubber is placed against the inner perimeter24 of the welt 3. The upper on the last is thereafter pressed againstthe sole in the bottom plate by means of the closing lever acting on thelever 14 which carries the last 21 as well as the push rods 6 adjustableby means of the threaded parts 7 and the lock nuts 8. The upright 13secures the lever 14 hingeably to the base plate 12. The base plate 12and the last 21 are, as usual for such devices, heated so as to obtainthe setting of the cement. According to the invention, the ribbon '19 ofelastomeric material such as uncured rubber is molded and cured underthe forementioned heat and pressure to fill the spaces between the last,the sole and the edge of the margin of the upper to form a steplesstransition between upper and sole, as well as providing an additionalbond between upper and sole. The customary lasting insole can beeliminated, which renders the shoe lighter and more flexible. Thestepless transition from upper to sole renders the shoe more agreeableto the foot of the wearer.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, a layer 29 might be placed betweenthe last 21 and the sole 11, inside of the perimeter of the welt 3. Ifthe welt 3 and the sole 1] are, as I prefer, of the same micro-porouselastomer, the ribbon 19 of clastomer molded and cured in situ will alsosecure the layer 29 in its position. This layer 29 is customarily of asofi cushion type. It the sole 1 1 is itself of relatively softmaterial, I provide contrary to the custom, a relatively rigid insert 23which stabilizes the foot of the wearer in the shoe. As example, if thesole 11 is micro-porous, soft rubber, the layer 23 is a blank cut fromsheet stock of regenerated rubber filled with fiber.

If desired, the shoe might be provided, in addition to the sole 11, witha tread sole 20, as shown in FIG. 3.

After removal of the shoe from the sole-laying device the side 16 of thesole might be trimmed to a desired contour 18, as shown in FIG. 3 andFIG. 2, or the side wall of the side frame 5 might be profiled so as toimpress the corresponding pattern upon the side of the sole as shown inFIG. 2 at 22.

The stabilizing insert 23 is selected to be stiff enough to eliminatethe transmission of the local pressure caused by stepping on a singlepebble to the foot of the wearer, and to prevent the side-slipping ofthe foot.

What I claim is:

1. Method of manufacture of footwear comprising stitching a welt to ashoe upper, placing said upper on the last of a sole laying device,temporarily tightening said upper on said last, placing the side frameof said sole-laying device against said welt and closing it, releasingat least partially the tension of said tightened upper to force saidwelt into sealing engagement with the side wall of said side frame,placing a ribbon of moldable and curable elastomer against the innerperimeter of said welt and a pre-cement-coated sole against the shoebottom, and using the heat and pressure of said sole-laying device tofasten said sole to said upper and welt while simultaneously molding andcuring said ribbon of elastomeric material to form a stepless transitionon the inside of the shoe between said upper and said sole which alsoadds a bond between said upper and said sole.

